Partnerships come in many and varied forms and are one way of creating both tangible and intangible societal benefits such as local economic development, improved quantity or quality of services, improved education and an overall improved quality of life.

Partnerships are alliances where individuals, groups or organisations agree to work together to fulfil an obligation or undertake a specific task. Partner benefits include: the development of human capital; organisational innovation; increased access to resources; better access to information; more effective services; and, enhanced reputation and credibility.

Partnerships can be formal or informal, can last for many years or be developed for the sake of a short-term project. Partnerships can be between organisations in the same sector (e.g. between schools) or cross sector (e.g. between a community agency and a business), and be between two or multiple organisations.

Based on the work of VicHealth, there are four main areas that partnerships work within in relation to formality and purpose, and most organisations would be surprised to realise that some of their regular activity could be explained as actual ‘partnership activity’.  The four key partnership areas are:

• Networking - involves the exchange of information for mutual benefit. There are many Networks that run across the BGK LLEN region and are set up to enable a broad range of stakeholders to attend, gather and share information to assist them in their work.
• Coordinating - involves exchanging information and altering activities for a common purpose. Being a member of a Working Group or Focus Group can be an example of working in this sort of partnership, where a small number of people agree to explore a partnership initiative on behalf of a wider group.
• Cooperating - involves the exchanging of information, the altering of activities and sharing of resources and requires significant time, trust and sharing of organisational ‘turf’. Often being involved and active on a Steering Group or Committee is undertaking this type of partnership activity.
• Collaborating - involves significant sharing of ‘turf’, knowledge and expertise. This leads to the creation of increased levels of organisational and regional capacity, opportunity and sustainability. Examples of this partnership work include joining forces with one or more organisations for funding opportunities or to jointly deliver services in a region.

Finally, best practice partnerships should incorporate three key principles: equity; transparency; and, mutual benefit.